Obesity is a term that is used to refer to having so much body fat that your health is in danger.
Calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI) is a means for determining how much body fat you have. Having too much body fat can lead to serious health comorbidities such as the following: type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, sleep apnea, stroke, certain cancers, and vascular disease. The location of where you carry your body fat may be as important as how many extra pounds you have. People who carry too much fat around the middle (visceral) rather than around the hips (peripheral) are more likely to have health problems.
What Causes Obesity?
When you take in more calories than you use or burn, you gain weight. How you eat, how active you are, and other factors affect how your body uses calories and whether you gain weight. Some people also have a genetic predisposition for obesity. If your family members are obese, you may have inherited a tendency to gain weight. In addition, there is an environmental and social element to obesity. Today, we have fast food restaurants at our disposal that serve large portions that encourage us to overeat. This leads to high calorie intake. Our busy lives also make it harder to plan and cook healthy meals because our work schedules, long commutes, and other commitments cut into the time we have for exercise. Moreover, the friends and family that we socialize with also help to form our eating and lifestyle habits which can lead to obesity.
What are Comorbidities?
Being overweight and obese have known associated risk factors for many other health problems (comorbidities). These include:
- High Blood Pressure / Hypertension
- High Blood Cholesterol
- Heart Disease
- Type II Diabetes
- Respiratory Disease, Asthma, and Bronchitis
- Gallbladder Disease
- Heartburn and Reflux Disease
- Sleep Apnea
- Osteoarthritis and Joint disease
- Cancers (Breast, Colorectal, Kidney, Gallbladder, Uterine)
- Pregnancy Complications
- Menstrual Irregularities
- Stress Incontinence
- Venous Stasis Disease
- Depression
- Psychological Disorders
Weight loss surgery dramatically improves your life by helping to eliminate or lessen the effects of multiple comorbidities that frequently occur with obesity. Evidence reveals that over 90% of comorbidities are improved or resolved with weight loss surgery.
